El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom
A CPT / Teatro Público de Cleveland Production
Written by Matt Barbot
Directed by Fabio Polanco
March 20, 2025 - April 05, 2025
7:00pm, Thurs/Fri/Sat and Mon, Mar. 31. 3:00pm, Sun, Mar. 23 and 30, James Levin Theatre. Previews Mar. 20 & 21. Opening Night is Mar. 22.
EVERY TICKET is "Choose What You Pay" and will be offered online, over the phone, and at the Box Office.
By day, Alex is a struggling comic book artist tempted by the allure of a steady job, but by night he is "El Coquí Espectacular," a superhero on a mission to save his fellow Puerto Ricans; while his advertising exec brother, Joe, reluctantly becomes the "voice" of Spanish-speaking people everywhere, and he doesn’t even speak Spanish. See how the brothers discover their true identities in this comic book come to life.
Click here for COVID-19 Safety Protocols. (Sunday Covid-Conscious performances)
The James Levin Theatre is ADA-compliant featuring a patron elevator and an all-gender, wheelchair accessible restroom.
People love El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom
“It is a relevant and exciting epic tale that will appeal to a broad audience of theatergoers.”
–Broadway World
“Truly superb… you’d be a fool to miss it.”
–Buffalo Rising
“El Coquí Espectacular is a wildly informative, yet still enjoyable piece about cultural pride. No matter what umbrella you fall under, this is one play that everyone can identify with.”
–Stage Buddy
ABOUT The Playwright
MATT BARBOT is a writer from Brooklyn, NY. His play El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (Kennedy Center Darrel Ayers Award, Kennedy Center Latinidad Award) received its world premiere at Two River Theater in January of 2018 and will receive a production with Long Wharf Theatre in January 2025. His play the beautiful land i seek (la linda tierra que busco yo) will premiere Off Broadway at Pregones/PRTT in December. Infallibility (2018 Sheen Center Playwriting Fellowship) was selected as one of Indie Theater Now‘s “Best of FringeNYC 2013.” Princess Clara of Loisaida (finalist: Latinx Theatre Commons’ 2018 Carnaval of New Latinx Work, 2018 Columbia@Roundabout New Play Series, 2021 Miranda Family Voces Latinx National Playwriting Competition) and Saints Go Marching (semifinalist: 2018 Eugene O’Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference) were selected to feature on Steppenwolf’s “The Mix” list. The Venetians was a winner of Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2019 Columbia@Roundabout New Play Series. Recently, his short play A List of Some Shit I’ve Killed was published as part of the Red Bull Theater’s anthology Red Bull Shorts Volume III. Matt’s first play for young audiences, Stoo’s Famous Martian American Gumbo, was commissioned by Peppercorn Theatre and was produced there in Summer 2019, and again in 2021 as part of Hangar Theatre’s KIDDSTUFF series. Matt was invited to be a part of Lynn Nottage’s The Watering Hole at the Signature Theatre; Maya Phillips of the New York Times called his contribution “the strongest.” Matt received his MFA from Columbia University, and was recently a New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellow, a member of The Civilians’ R&D Group, and part of the Lark Playwriting Group @ Second Stage.
ABOUT The Director
FABIO POLANCO‘s directing credits include Pride and Prejudice, Somewhere, La Siempreviva, Intimate Apparel, Macbeth, Bus Stop, Night Train to Bolina, the regional premiere of Missionaries by Elizabeth Swados, Measure for Measure, Cloud Tectonics, The House of Blue Leaves, Sunday in the Park with George, readings of Fade, La Gringa, and Manual for a Desperate Crossing by Maria Irene Fornés, and the premiere of In Pieces: A New Musical by Joey Contreras. As an actor, Fabio’s credits include the Broadway national tour of Les Misérables and roles at Cleveland Play House, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Signature Theatre, Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Great Lakes Theater, Musical Theatre Project, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Porthouse Theatre, Cleveland Musical Theatre, Cain Park, Dobama Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and numerous film and television credits. Fabio holds an MFA from Case Western Reserve University and is a Professor of Theatre at Kent State University, where he received the 2018 Outstanding Research and Scholarship Award and co-founded Latinx in Theatre. Fabio has been a member of Actors’ Equity Association since 1996.
ABOUT TEATRO PÚBLICO DE CLEVELAND
Teatro Público de Cleveland is a collective of Latino theatre artists and produces performances that preserve and promote the cultures of Cleveland Latinos for Spanish-speaking audiences and the broader public. TPC’s spring show, selected by the company, seeks to connect with Latino and non-Latino audiences in a powerful experience of cross-cultural work.
In 2013, Cleveland Public Theatre launched Teatro Público de Cleveland (TPC), a local Latinx theatre company, whose work reflects the artistic goals, interests, and ideals of its members. The purpose of this theatre ensemble is to share the rich diversity and perspectives of the Latinx-Cleveland culture, and to fulfill CPT’s core mission.